


Undertale: Ruins of the Past

by Spengineer



Series: Undertale: Ruins of the Past [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fun times with Flowey, Gen, Post-Pacifist Route, Starts out as a day in the life fic, Trapped in the Underground, but the plot starts soon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-04-30 21:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5179952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spengineer/pseuds/Spengineer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place after the True Pacifist run of Undertale. Monsters live on the surface, and are mostly tolerated by humanity. The main character (who is not named or given a gender to allow the reader to insert themselves) moves to the unnamed town at the base of Mt. Ebott in order to explore the Underground, which no one has entered since the monsters came to the surface. The human soon becomes friends with Papyrus and Sans, whom they live on the same street with, and Napstablook, whom they are neighbors with. After waiting for the right time to sneak down, they find themselves conflicted. These people were so nice and genuine- maybe there was a reason that nobody went to the Underground. It'd only take a plummet down to the Underground for them to find out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. After the Rise

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is my first fan-fic, so I hope it's okay! I really wanted to do something with Undertale's post-game, and I felt that it'd be best to not use a character that already exists. I really hope you like the fan-fic! Thank you! This chapter is kinda short, so I'm uploading chapter two along with it.

It all happened so fast. One morning, you had been eating cereal and watching YouTube videos, and the next every facet of the world was talking about it. Monsters had emerged from the depths of the earth, claiming to be buried by the humans of old. Among them was a human child named Frisk. They had no parents, at least none that were willing to put themselves into the limelight. Frisk testified that they had fallen down Mt. Ebott into the Underground, the dwelling of the Monsters. There, they had met Toriel, the previous queen of the Monsters. Frisk ventured further into the Underground to attempt to leave and made many friends with the Monsters. They met the current monster mascot, Papyrus the skeleton, his brother Sans, the hyperactive and enthusiastic Undyne, the shy and adorkable Alphys (the Monsters’ Royal Scientist), the current hit robot star Mettaton, and finally, Asgore, the king of Monsters. The UN considered what Frisk testified, and compared it to the statements given by Toriel and Asgore. They eventually determined that Frisk was to be the ambassador between the humans and Monsters, as they had the most (which isn’t saying much, they were the only person to meet a Monster since the middle ages) experience with them.

 

At first, the public was skeptical. It didn’t help that their race was named after a word that meant a horrible, evil being. Eventually, though, the more tolerant of humans came to accept Monsters. The stubborn folk felt scared, and called for laws to segregate the two races. Everyone in between simply tolerated them. It helped that recently culture had been giving a more positive view of non-humans recently, so the more nerdy people instantly loved the Monsters. You instantly fell in love with the Monsters as well. They were all so cool, nice, and big. You were especially intrigued by their magic, something that humans most definitely did not have. The Dreemurr family possessed fire magic, the skeleton brothers possessed limited control over the gravity of humans, and Undyne… no one could pin down what she had. Super strength was obviously one of them, as well as increased endurance. Her spears, however, were what confused people. Where they water magic? Electricity? Pure energy? No one but her knew, and you guessed it didn’t really matter enough to her for her to clarify.

 

Frisk did a good job of being the ambassador for Monsters. They were the figurehead of the pro-Monster movement. It was thanks to them that Monsters had quickly gained the majority of the standard rights of everyone. The ones they lacked were the top priority of the movement. A town full of monsters quickly sprang around Mt. Ebott. It was natural, really. Some Monsters just wanted to live close to their own home. A few human families who were accepting of monsters had moved to the town. The first school to teach both humans and Monsters sprang up quickly in the town, with the only teacher being Toriel. From what you understood, she was divorced from her ex-husband, Asgore. Everyone knew they were going to get back together eventually, it would just take time. The way they looked together, the way they talked to each other… it was only a matter of time before they started dating again.

 

A whole two months had passed since the Monsters had arrived. The town at the base of Mt. Ebott was doing well, and monsters had started to disperse elsewhere. Mettaton was the first, taking along his performance partners, Napstablook, Shyren, and… Burgerpants. No one knew why he was called that. Everyone just assumed it was an inside joke. Alphys was working with many of the world’s scientists and assisted with catching up humanity on the technology she had developed in the Underground. It was ironic, really. After being trapped so long down there and isolated from the means to research the world, the were still ahead of the humans. Undyne had quickly become a professional athlete, taking part in many different sports. The only sports she didn’t like were golf, tennis, and baseball, because they required equipment to use. Undyne preferred a more hands-on approach. Asgore had naturally volunteered to work at Toriel’s school. He served as the backbone to the school, doing all of the manual labor. He also served as one of Frisk’s advisors along with Toriel, Alphys, Undyne, and Sans. Papyrus didn’t really have a job. He had become an internet phenomenon, surpassing many people to become one of the most followed people in all of social media. Sans wasn’t seen very much. He preferred to keep out of the public eye as much as possible. Overall, most of the Monsters had transitioned into human society pretty well. It helped that monsters were all very nice and empathetic.

 

There was only one thing that bothered you about the situation. No one went into the Underground. Not the UN, not the country’s government. Hell, not even the Monsters went down there. No one ever brought up the Underground. You were curious, to say the least. You’d think that the previous home of the Monsters would at least be explored for historical or scientific value, but nope. You could only guess that the Monsters had told the UN that the Underground was off limits. That made you even more curious. What could be down there that might make the Monsters so against anyone descending? After all, there was nothing left in the Underground… right?


	2. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you move to the town at the base of Mt. Ebott and settle in.

It didn’t take long for you to decide to check out the Underground. There were only three problems. One, how were you going to get to Mt. Ebott? Two, how were you going to sneak up the mountain without anyone seeing you? Three, what were you going to do when you got to the mountain? Problem one was the easiest. You were going to move, of course. No one would question a teenager of undeterminable age suddenly moving into a town by themselves with no parents. That wouldn’t be weird at all. Three wasn’t too hard either. You’d climb down where Frisk fell and retrace their steps. That would give you the most value of your trip. Problem two, though was going to be tricky.

You didn’t really have much to move. Just your computer, your bed, your clothes, and your belongings. You were lucky that you lived in the same area of the country as Mt. Ebott. The drive would only be two hours. Plenty of time to plan things out. You had purchased a home in the town. It wasn’t very expensive. From what you heard, nothing was too terribly expensive in the town. Monsters seemed to be unaffected by the vices of men, or some literary nonsense. You guess having a currency of gold made their money problems essentially evaporate. You didn’t have a car, so you just rode with the moving van. You decided to take this quiet time to look up who your neighbors were. Obviously, you weren’t going to go to the Underground right when you arrived. You wanted to enjoy yourself. Unlocking your phone, you opened Google Maps. Loading. You entered your new address. Loading. You zoomed out so it wasn’t just on your house. Loading. Finally, the full area map of your street popped up. You weren’t living directly next to anyone you knew. You were in between one Monster family and one human family. Variety! You scanned the street for anyone you knew of. Much partying occurred in your head when you discovered you lived on the same street as Papyrus and Sans. Turning off your phone, you looked out the window. It was odd how quickly you had transitioned from an urban setting to a more rural area.

“You nervous?” the driver asked.

“Of what?” you asked, not really paying attention.

“Of living next to Monsters,” he clarified. Now that was something you could talk about.

“Not really. Kinda the opposite. I’m really excited to meet a whole bunch of new people,” you answered. There was a sudden chill in the air.

“Well, just be careful. They’re nice folks and all, but I hear they can get kinda touchy if you stick your nose where it don’t belong,” the driver warned coldly. You turn your head to ask what he meant, but you blacked out. You swear, their skin looked unrealistically white.

You came to your senses outside of the town. You hadn’t really fallen unconscious. You just were suddenly there, with all of your stuff unloaded - your bag of clothes, your laptop, and your backpack full of schooling stuff. The little furniture you brought was already in your new house courtesy of the mover, and all that was left was what you could carry. Speaking of the mover, he was nowhere to be seen. . All because you wanted to research a cave didn’t mean you wanted to drop out of school, after all! You opened your front door, and quickly dropped everything off. You certainly weren’t the most physically fit. You laid down on your bed, looking at the ceiling. This was it. A whole new life. You were filled with butterflies in your stomach. A chance to meet new people, to try new things. You didn’t expect to become friends with the important people, but that didn’t matter. People don’t get depressed when they live in LA, but don’t get to be besties with famous people, so you shouldn’t be upset now.

You rise from the bed, with work to be done. Even though the main reason of you coming was to explore the Underground, you still planned on staying afterwards. Why not get settled? You quickly set up your computer setup and attended to the bags of clothing you brought. Soon, all of your stuff was packed away neatly. You were glad to find your little house came with a guest bedroom, complete with basic furniture, as well as a fully functional kitchen. A fridge, a stove, an oven, and a sink. There was an small, empty basement under your house, so there was always some storage space. You’d have to get anything else you needed. Maybe you’d get a television so you could watch news. After the Monsters had surfaced, the news had become more worthwhile to watch.

Well, that’s done. No real reason left to stay inside. You exit your front door, and turn to lock it. Before you put the key in, you stand still for a moment. Something comes over you, and you put the key away. You don’t need to lock your door here. No one here would stoop to theft. You place your hands in your pockets and walk down the sidewalk. Wouldn’t hurt to do a little sight-seeing. You walk around all over the town, checking out all of the stores and restaurants. You don’t plan on cooking all of your meals, after all. Might be fun to try food made by Monsters. Eventually, your trip has you in front of the town’s school. There was no one there today, as you decided to move in on the weekend. It seemed to be a universal constant that there was no school on weekends. Even civilizations light years away from Earth probably didn’t have school on the weekends. The building wasn’t necessarily big, but it also wasn’t small. It had to be big enough to hold multiple different students at one time, as well as give space for larger Monsters to roam the building. You wondered how school worked with only one school for kindergarten through high school. Maybe Toriel wasn’t the only teacher. Now that you think about, you don’t know why you ever assumed that. You would think that you’d have realized they had to have multiple different teachers for different subjects and grades. Well, you’d figure that all once the weekend was over with.

You continued your walk in the sun. Even though it was summer, the air was a nice pleasant temperature with low humidity. You decided to head to the town hall to figure out how you were going to take care of all of your bills and stuff. It is only a short walk from the school to the town hall. The doors are noticeably large. Probably to allow Asgore to actually fit through them. As you walk through the doors, you notice little scratches on the top of the door frame. You suppress a giggle as you imagine Asgore’s horns scratching up the door. You look around the building, looking for any employees. You quickly find a secretary, who is a human girl. Guess everywhere here had variety in the race of employees. You walk up to the desk, and tell her you’re the new arrival. Turns out people don’t show up too often. She walks you through all of the basics, which pretty much match that of your former residence. She looks at you with a weird look when you tell her you’re the only one living there.

“No parents?” she asked.

“Nope,” you answered.

“No siblings?” she asked again.

“Nada,” you replied. She looked at you with an eyebrow raised, before shrugging it off. You guess she didn’t really care too much because you didn’t sound worried or anything. The way you asked questions, it was pretty obvious you knew how to pay bills and such. There were only one thing different about here than where you had previously lived.

“There’s an ordinance you should know about before you start really living here. Mt. Ebott itself is completely off limits. No entrance allowed unless on official business of Mr. Dreemurr,” she informed you. Guess you were right about that. Going to the Underground would definitely be breaking the law. You nod your head in understanding. She hands you a map of the town and a pamphlet of recommended things to do in the town.

“Enjoy living here!” she says. You thank her, grab the map and pamphlet, and walk out the door. Looks like all of your responsibilities are taken care of. The rest of your day is free. Nothing to do, nowhere to be. You sit down on a nearby bench and open the pamphlet. You flip through it, looking for anything interesting. As you're reading, you hear a sound reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard. You discreetly look up from the pamphlet to see Asgore himself entering the town hall. You mentally mark off Asgore on a list of all of the famous Monsters you hoped to see. You put the pamphlet and map into your pocket and head home. You would have to quickly plan your day. You get home fairly quickly and spread out the map and pamphlet. Unable to keep idle, you mark areas on your map that you should check out, and draw little lines with a pencil to show what order you should visit these places. Just as you finish, you hear a knock on the door. You put the map and pamphlet away in a drawer and go to answer the door. You hear voices from outside.

“Wowie! I can’t wait to meet our new neighbor! It’s like the town’s population is being inflated! Just with humans instead of air!” one of the voice says in a nasally, enthusiastic voice.

“Yeah, it’s pretty great. The more humans that move in, the more people I have to tell my jokes to,” the other voice says in a laid back, deeper voice.

“Sans, I swear to god if you tell any more of your stupid puns I am going to scream!” the first voice warns. You place your hands to your mouth to aid in stopping your screams of excitement. You had completely forgotten that you lived on the same street as Papyrus and Sans, the skeleton brothers. You were scared to open the doors. What if you said something stupid? What if there was an awkward silence? What if you weren’t worth their time? You didn’t have time to ponder this as some strange force completely unrelated to the narrator grabbed your hand and made it open the door.


	3. Bone Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Papyrus and Sans and join them at a party at Toriel's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, things are actually happening now! We've got a couple more chapters left until the Underground, so hold on! We're getting close!

Welp, there was no going back now. You opened the door, ready to greet the bone bros. You’d just have to go with the flow.

“Hello, Human! It is I, the great Papyrus, Spagettore! And this is my brother, Sans!” Papyrus exclaimed with much enthusiasm.

“Hey,” added Sans.

“We are here to welcome you to our wonderful town! Everyone enjoys when new people move in! As a gift of welcoming, I made you some of my famous spaghetti!” proclaimed Papyrus, as he thrust a small, aluminum crate of spaghetti into your arms. Well, looks like you don’t have to worry about dinner tonight.

“O-oh, thank you! It’s cool to meet you two!” you respond nervously. You look inside for a second to see if your home is in condition for visitors. Luckily for you, you don’t have the talent to trash a house in only a couple of hours.

“Uh, do you two want to come in and talk or something?” you suggest. Papyrus puts his hands up to his face in surprise.

“Wowie! You only just met us and you’re making us honored guests in your home! Thank you, kind Human!” answers Papyrus as he walks into your home. Sans follows him in quietly. You set the spaghetti down, and sit down at your table. Papyrus and Sans join you, sitting at the opposite end next to each other.

“So… Is there anything I should, uh, know now that I live here? Like, anything happening soon?” you inquired as casually as you could. You really suck at trying to stick to answering and not initiating.

“Hmm… Oh! There is a big celebration going on at the Queen’s house!” Papyrus answers.

“That sounds pretty cool! When is it? That might be a good way to meet some people,” you asked. A party sounds pretty fun. You’ll need to figure out what you’re going to wear, what you’re going to make, and what-

“Looking at the time now… It starts in ten minutes!” blurted Papyrus. Ten minutes!? Well, looks like you’re going as is!

“Yeah, maybe we should start heading that way, Pap. Don’t want to keep Toriel waiting,” Sans suggested. 

“Yes, yes… well, we’ll be seeing you around, Human! Unless, you’d like to follow us?” exclaimed Papyrus.

“Can I? I don’t really know my way around town, so that’d really great!” you answer. This was turning out great. You were already making friends with your neighbors, and were about to go to a party hosted by the previous queen of Monsters!

“Of course, Human! I, the great Papyrus, shall guide you to the house of Her Majesty!” boasted Papyrus. You all exit the house, and begin walking down the street.

“So, who was the last person who lived in my house?” you ask.

"No one, bud. You're the first owner of that house. It's a pretty new house here," responded Sans. That's pretty cool. Guess you don't have to worry about any weird leftovers from any previous owners.

“Say, aren’t you a little young to be living by yourself?” integrated Sans. You just shrug. It was kinda… complicated.

“Eh, to each their own, I guess. I’m guessin’ we’re the first you met?” Sans added. It took you a moment to realize he meant if he and Papyrus were the first monsters you had met.

“Yeah, but I still know about you guys. Enough to know how cool and nice you all are. I’m definitely excited to live here,” you explain. It’s true, maybe you were a little invested in the Monsters. Nothing wrong with that, though.

“Not only are we the first to visit you, but we’re also the first Monsters you met?! Human, I am sorry for setting your expectations so astronomically high! I hope you can set your standards lower for the sake of our friends!” Papyrus interjected. You let out small laugh.

“Sure thing, I won’t hold everyone to your standers, Papyrus,” you assure. He looks pleased. Within no time, you’ve all arrived at what you assume is the Queen’s house. It’s odd, there are barely any cars anywhere. You don’t mind, just makes everything safer and easier. Guess no one really needs a car when everything is so close. In fact, Papyrus is the only one you’ve noticed to own a car.

“Here we are, Human! The Her Majesty and Frisk’s house!” Papyrus announces with a flourish of his hands. Oh, you had forgotten that Frisk lived with Toriel and Asgore on an alternating schedule. The front door was wide open, with only a screen door to prevent insects from entering. Monsters and the occasional human were either hanging out outside or entering the house. Looks like a lot of people were going to be here. You stand there, a little nervous. Meeting so many new people, a few of them really important… You start to briefly question if you are ready for this. You shake your head, determined to not miss such a good opportunity to meet new people. Without warning, you feel something sink in your chest. You expect something to happen, but the feeling quickly goes away. Probably just nerves. You follow Papyrus and Sans up the sidewalk and into Toriel’s house. Tonight was going to be a long night for you.

The first thing you notice when you walk in is the distinct lack of humans. You don’t have anything wrong with Monsters, it just feels a little odd to be the only human in a building. Boy, and you thought it was hard to not sound racist  before Monsters came to the surface. You decide to follow Papyrus for the first part of the evening. He greets every monster he walks past with equal excitement and happiness. Papyrus is such a cool guy. You swerve between people, careful not to bump into anybody. Just as you are about to enter the next room, a short Ice-Monster’s elaborate and fragile looking hat is knocked off its head. You dive forward to catch it. You succeed, and rise to your feet, and hand the Ice Hat his hat back.

“Wow man, thanks. Guess no one can bare to see this masterpiece break!” he laughs as he places his hat back on his head. You give each other a fist bump, but you have to bend over a little to reach him. Turning, you see Papyrus nodding at you.

“You have done a good deed today! First you accept my gift of spaghetti, then you invite my brother and I into your home, and then you save Ivan’s hat! I am glad to have you as a neighbor, human!” Papyrus exclaims as he slaps your back. It stings a little due to the lack of skin, but you don’t mind. You follow Papyrus and Sans into the next room, which you identify as a dining room. There is a nice vase with golden flowers in the middle of a long table with nine chairs. There are picture various pictures hung up around the room. One that catches your eye is a group photo of Toriel, Frisk, Asgore, Alphys, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne. They all look so happy.

“Papyrus, are you just leading us in circles? There’s no one else in here. It’s making me kind of bone-ly,” Sans chuckles.

“Sans, stop it with your skeleton puns!” cried Papyrus.

“Hey, I got a skele-ton more,” Sans responded.

“I’m going to scream!” Papyrus threatened.

“Sorry, I don’t mean tibia nuisance,” Sans apologized. Papyrus closed his eye sockets (somehow) and took a deep breath in. He then opened his eyes in a distressed manner.

“OH MY GOD!” Papyrus screamed as Sans broke into laughter. You had already started with the first pun.

“See, the human’s got a good taste in jokes,” laughed Sans. “So, why are we in the kitchen and not with everyone else?”

“Well, Her Maj- sorry, Toriel, requested that I help her with making the culinary refreshments!” Papyrus boasted. It was hard to see, but you felt Sans tense up next to you.

“Uh, do you really think that’s a good idea, Papyrus? Considering you almost burned our house down making that spaghetti for the human,” Sans questioned. You felt him give you a little poke with his elbow. You would have to remind yourself to throw away the spaghetti when you got home.

“Of course it is a good idea! Why, my food will make everyone become filled with joy! My cooking is the best! Frisk and Undyne say so!” retorted Papyrus.

“Well, we won’t interrupt. We’ll leave you here to wait for Tori. just be careful with the fire,” Sans winked as you two left Papyrus. Welp, guess you weren’t meeting Toriel today. You and Sans dodged through the crowd aimlessly until you reached the back door. You both stepped out the glass door into the backyard. The sun had almost set, leaving very little natural light. There were lanterns scattered around the yard that emitted warm, yellow light. There were substantially less people out here and the music was muffled. Sans sat down at the foot of the porch , looking up at you.

“You going to join me?” he asked distantly. You quickly apologize and sit down as well.

“Never did like being around so many people. But Papyrus, he loves it. Plus, you don’t just turn down a party hosted by Tori.” sighed Sans. You looked up at the stars, shocked at how much brighter they were here than back where you had live. Everything here just seemed more natural. It was pretty nice.

“So… how’s it like on the surface? Is it everything you hoped?” you asked hesitantly.

“It’s pretty sweet, most of the time. There’s always the few people that make trouble, though. Some of us just weren’t ready for the surface. Not their fault, it’s just different. Some don’t even realize they’re doing anything wrong. Others weren’t prepared for the humans. I gotta admit, kid. Some of you guys can be pretty nasty,” answered Sans. You prefer not to think of the accidents. He was right, though. Some Monsters weren’t properly equipped to handle the surface. There had been a few incidents of monsters going out of control, not understanding that they were hurting people. But then, there was the racism. Humans who just couldn’t handle there being other things that could think, feel, and do. They tried to get their agendas done through law at first, but when it was obvious that they weren’t bringing back segregation, they took matters into their own hands. There had been very few successful lynchings. Even though Monsters had weak physical bodies, they could kick an unprepared person’s butt really easy. Magic had to make self defense easy. You always wondered what it felt like for your soul to be outside of you.

“Yeah… I… I don’t really like those people. You guys are all really cool! I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t see it that way,” you chattered. It was getting kinda cold outside.

“Especially the ones who don’t care about us at all, and just use us to get what they want,” said Sans coldy. You felt your stomach drop as you stared at the grass. No way. There was no way he could know that you wanted to go down Mt. Ebott. Besides, you weren’t using the monsters. You genuinely wanted to be their friends! Sans must be talking about something else. Maybe he had a bad experience with some humans.

“But you’re not like that, are you? You moved in by yourself, with no one to support you. no one does that if they aren’t dedicated. I think you’re going to like it here,” Sans chuckled. You breathed a sigh of relief. Turning your head to Sans, you thanked him for giving you such a warm reception on your first day here.

“Hey, no problem. Although you should really thank Papyrus. He loves making a good first impression,” Sans clarified. “It’s probably getting a little cold out, seeing as you’re shakin’ like a leaf. Let’s go back inside,” Sans suggested. You both stood and re-entered the house. You could smell something wonderful cooking. Judging from Sans’s previous hints, you assumed that Papyrus was not the one cooking.

“Hey, you want to meet Tori? She’s probably in the kitchen cooking some pie,” offered Sans. 

“Really? That’d be pretty awesome,” you replied. You mentally rehearsed the list of manners in your head.  Say please and thank you. Don’t interrupt. Call her Miss Dreemurr until she allows you to call her Toriel. She was your teacher, after all. Sans shrugged as you two dodged through the crowd again. Eventually, you both found your way to the kitchen again. You could hear Papyrus inside.

“So, this sweet, non-eggy quiche… you call it, a ‘pie’?” Papyrus asked.

“Yes, Papyrus. It is somewhat similar to a quiche. It also comes in a wide variety of types. Today, we are making butterscotch and cinnamon pie,” a voice explained from within.

“Wowie! I’m learning so much about cooking today!” Papyrus cheered. Sans turned to you, smiling.

“We figured it might be a good idea for Tori to help Undyne with giving Papyrus his, uh, ‘cooking lessons.’ They’ve really helped. If only Tori knew how to make spaghetti, we’d be golden,” he chuckled. Sans clears his throat, and enters the kitchen. You hesitate for a moment, but follow him inside.


	4. Boredom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the end of Toriel's party, you find yourself very bored the next day. A visit from Napstablook and a cooking lesson from Undyne are just what you need!

You enter the kitchen with Sans while trying to steady your nerves. Unfortunately, you weren’t very good at meeting new people. You got nervous quickly and always stalled for time before jumping into conversation. Something that wasn’t very helpful for moving into a town full of new people, you know.

“Hey, Tori. How’s Papyrus doing with cooking?” greeted Sans.

“Hello, Sans. He has improved much since the last time I helped him,” Toriel responded.

“Yeah! I learned how to roll dough without making a mess, and I can crack eggs now!” interjected Papyrus.

“Oh, is this the new resident of our town, Sans?” asked Toriel.

“Yep, they sure are. They just arrived today,” answered Sans. You give Toriel a small wave, not ready to talk.

“Greetings, I am Toriel. I am sure you will enjoy our little town,” promised Toriel.

“Th-thank you… I already enjoy it here. Everyone is so nice,” you nodded. Toriel clasped her hands together.

“That’s wonderful. May I ask… where are your parents?” questioned Toriel.

“Oh, I live here alone,” you replied.

“By yourself? You aren’t even an adult! How could your parents just let you live away from them when you are so young?” Toriel gasped. You were speechless. Somehow, Toriel knew you weren’t a legal adult just by looking at you. Would this cause problems? Would you be sent away? But to where? It’s not like you could just-

“Tori, relax. The kid can take care of theirself,” Sans assured. Toriel thought for a moment.

“Well… If you think so… Anyhow, if you ever find yourself in need of help, let me know,” ordered Toriel.

“I will, thank you,” you insisted.

“It was nice to meet you, but I’m afraid Papyrus and I must return to our cooking. Thank you for introducing us, Sans.” said Toriel as she shooed you and Sans out of the kitchen.

“Man, she’s one helluva lady,” Sans sighed. You tried to hold back your anger as you realized that Sans was a threat to your ship of Toriel and Asgore.

“Hey, thanks for saying that in there. You know, about me being able to take care of myself,” you stated.

“It’s no problem. Tori worries too much about everything, thought I’d just give her one less thing to worry about. Well, I think I’m going to head out. You should stay and get to know some people. It’s good for you,” suggested Sans. You nodded, and parted ways. The party continued for a few more hours as you tried to socialize. It wasn’t as successful as you hoped it would be, but you did have a few good conversations. Eventually, everyone went home. You thanked Toriel and Papyrus and returned to your home to sleep.

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Your phone alarm went off, waking you from your sleep. You rubbed your eyes as you rose from your bed. Time for a new day. After getting cleaned up and eating a light breakfast, you sat on your couch. There was nothing to do. You checked your phone, but that only gave you a brief distraction. You guessed you could attempt to hang out with Papyrus or Sans, but you decided you shouldn’t act clingy. Some things just never change. You got bored easily and weren’t very good at recovering from it. You’d just sit there for an hour doing nothing until finally you were saved from boredom by someone else. Frustrated, you tossed your phone away from you and collapsed on the floor. You had assumed the bored position. It would take an event of enormous entertainment to save you now. Just as you resigned yourself to your fate, there was a soft knock at your door. You hopped up, ready for something to do. However, when you opened the door, there was no one there.

“What? Maybe I’m just so bored I’m hearing things,” you shrugged as you closed your door. You resumed the position. There was another knock. You got up quicker, and ran to the door. Nobody. You let out a groan of frustration as you closed the door again. You hadn’t even gone back to your spot on the floor when there was a knock on the door again. You opened it again, having simply accepted that this was for the best. Anything to keep you from lying on the ground some more. No one there. You closed it again and sighed. This was getting old. You turned and laid down again.

“Wow… I didn’t know you liked to lay on the ground too…” murmured a quiet voice to your side. You somehow jumped while laying down. Laying down next to where you were was a ghost. The bedsheet kind, not the see-through person kind. On their head was a pair of headphones, but they weren’t connected to anything. They were just staring up at the ceiling. They almost seemed… familiar.

“Oh, um, hi… S-sorry, I didn’t see you there…” you stammered. You didn’t know why you were apologizing, but maybe you were so bored you didn’t even care that your guest was uninvited.

“I get that a lot… I’m Napstablook… You’re the new human, aren’t you?” Napstablook asked.

“Y-yeah. Hey, aren’t you partners with Mettaton?” you realized. That’s why they were familiar! Napstablook was the DJ for Mettaton’s group. You think they were cousins or something.

“Uh-huh… I get that a lot too…” answered Napstablook drearily. You stood there for a second, unsure of anything else to say.

“I’m sorry… I’m making this really awkward, aren’t I?” sighed Napstablook. You started to deny, but they rose… to… their… ?????

“If you want to come hang out at my house… I live across the street… No offense, but there’s probably more we can do there… You don’t even have a TV…” offered Napstablook. They flew through the door as you followed after them. You crossed the street and walked up their sidewalk. Their house was nice. It was completely undecorated, though. It was the exact same as when it was built. You followed Napstablook into their house to see just how much more personalized it was than yours. There were posters all over the living room, from popular bands to Mettaton posters. One of them even featured Napstablook himself. It was the most out of the way and least taken care of.

“Welcome… this is my house… I like music… do you… like music?” Napstablook inquired.

“Yeah, I used to play marimba. I don’t anymore though, after I moved. I can’t afford to buy one,” you answered.

“Oh… that’s cool… I’m more of a synth or vibes kind of ghost, but marimbas are nice, too…” Napstablook responded. There was an awkward silence.

“Do you… want to see my music stuff?” Napstablook asked wearily. You nodded, and followed Napstablook again to a room with a computer and a synth. There were also mics and even a guitar in the corner of the room.

“This is where I write the music… It’s a nice setup, but I wish I could get a better synth…” Napstablook sighed. At least you weren’t bored anymore?

“Do you, uh… play video games?” you asked.

“I’m not very good, but yeah…” they murmured.

“Do you play Smash Bros?” you clarified.

“Yeah… do you want to play it?” Napstablook redirected. You nodded. You two traveled once again to the living room and sat in front of the television. What followed was a hardcore match of reflexes and timing. For someone who “wasn’t very good”, Napstablook was kicking your butt. You cycled through your mains, only winning a few battles, but the matches slowly became closer and closer. Napstablook played a mean Captain Olimar. Eventually, you both grew bored of Smash Bros. You had plenty of fun, and had made a new friend.

“It was nice hanging out with you. We should do this more often!” you suggested. Napstablook blushed.

“Really? Okay… I’m fine with that,” they laughed lightly. You returned to your home, and thought. You had only just moved here, and you were already making friends. Maybe you hadn’t moved here to explore the Underground… After all, what business did you have down there? There had to be a reason no one was allowed to go down there. But… the curiosity. It was more intense than anything you had ever felt. It was almost mind consuming. You wanted to go down there so much… to make what Frisk went through yours, as well…

You shook your head, shocked at what had just gone through your head. Make what Frisk went through yours!? Sure, you were jealous of them being friends with essentially every living being, but you certainly didn’t envy what they went through! No one should have had to go through what they most likely did… After all, as much as you hated to think it, not all monsters were good. And even some of the good ones could be dangerous if they had the right reasons. You sighed, trying to stop thinking about this. It didn’t matter right now, so you shouldn’t think about it too much. You would just look around Mt. Ebott, looking for the entrance, and poke around a bit. Then, you’d be satisfied. For now, you needed to think of something else. You turned on your phone, and looked at your contacts list. That’s right, you had exchanged phone numbers with Papyrus last night! You could call him up and talk for a little, maybe hang out. That’d get your mind off of your problem. You started the call.

“Hello? Oh! I recognize this number! Hello, neighbor! What might you be calling me for today?” Papyrus exclaimed. Talk about a shift in volume compared to Napstablook…

“Um… I was wondering if we could… hang out, maybe?” you wondered out loud.

“Sure! I’m going to my cooking lessons with Undyne! Maybe you can learn as well! She loves giving cooking lessons!” Papyrus beamed.

“Uh… okay! I’ll meet you at your house, and we can head over to Undyne’s house,” you cheered. Success!

“Okay! See you then!” Papyrus hang up the phone. You grabbed a jacket and your phone and exited your home. It was only halfway between your house and Papyrus’s house that realized what you had just signed yourself up for. Cooking lessons. With Undyne. You would treasure every moment of your life that you had left from now on. You eventually arrived at Papyrus’s house. He was waiting outside, wearing the same clothes as always.

“Hello, human! Let us go, we can’t be late for my lesson!” Papyrus rushed. He unlocked his car, and you two climbed in. It was weird that Papyrus of all people was one of the few people to own a car here.

“Wow, this is a pretty nice car,” you complimented.

“Thank you! I had it custom made just for me!” boasted Papyrus. You expected a rough drive, but Papyrus actually drove fairly well. It was obvious he had only just gotten his license recently, but he didn’t break any rules of the road. After awhile of driving and Mettaton over the radio, you arrived at the lake. It only made sense for Undyne to have a lake house, for she was part fish.

“Here we are, human! Now, I must warn you. These lessons can get a little… intense. Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Papyrus questioned. Why not. You nodded, which seemed to be enough for Papyrus.

“Well, then here we go!” shouted Papyrus, as he marched to Undyne’s front door.  He firmly knocked on it. You could hear a crash from inside, and a sequence of loud stomps. You had a bad feeling that you had made Papyrus late. Papyrus took a single step back right before the door flew open.

“HEY! You’re 2 minutes late, Papyrus! I hope you have a good reason for this!” The loud voice confirmed your fears.

“Well, my new neighbor requested that they come with me to today’s lesson! I thought I’d give them the opportunity to learn from the very best! ” Papyrus explained. Aaaand Papyrus made sure Undyne knew it was your fault.

“Neighbor, huh? Where are they? I want to get a look at what I’m working with,” ordered Undyne. Papyrus stepped to the side , leaving no one in between you and Undyne.

“Uh… hi?” you greeted. Undyne just stared at you, analysing your body.

“Well, you don’t look completely wimpy… Fine! I’ll teach you! But! You have to be able to face every challenge I throw at you! One mess up, and that’s it! Are! You! UP TO THIS!?” roared Undyne. Screw it, you were just going to roll with it.

“YES! I! AAAAAAM!” you shrieked.

“GOOD, THEN LET’S! GET! STARTEEEEEEED!” Undyne hollered, as she grabbed you and Papyrus and dragged you both into her house. The interior was a mix of blues, yellows, and pinks. The living room was mixed with the kitchen and dining room, complete with a piano. There was a single door which you assumed led to the rest of Undyne’s home.

“The first step to being a proper cook is preparing your work space! As you can see, I have purposely made my kitchen dirty as hell! You need to clean it off in 5 minutes! This is your first challenge! If you can’t do this, then that means you aren’t ready to even approach cooking! Ready!? GOOOOO!” Undyne yelled. You bolted to the sink, covering a nearby rag in warm water. Afterward, you squeezed the water out, leaving the rag slightly damp. Going as fast as you can, you ran along the counters and stove, wiping anything solid into a nearby trashcan. You then bolted back to sink and doused the rag once more. You then applied soap in order to scrub out any light stains.

“TWO MINUTES LEEEEFT!” Undyne bellowed.

“You can do it, human! I believe in you,” cheered Papyrus. You scrubbed with all of the pressure you could manage with your arms, extinguishing stains from their wretched existence.

“STOOOP! Your time is up!” ordered Undyne. You threw the rag into the sink as Undyne examined your work.

“Hm… EXCELLENT! Not a stain left! Now that you have vanquished germs from the workplace, you must prepare the tools! You can’t cook without them! You have 2 minutes to gather a pot, wooden spoon, pasta strainer, cutting board, and knife! ‘But wait, Undyne! What’s the challenge in this,’ you might ask! WELL! I’m not telling you where I keep anything! Your time starts! NOOOOOW!” cackled Undyne. Crap. You quickly scanned the kitchen, looking at all of the drawers and cabinets. The drawer next to the stove had to have the spoon! You dashed over to the drawer, throwing it open. Perfect! You quickly but carefully grabbed a knife and a wooden spoon. You cartwheeled to the cabinet above and to the right of the sink just because you could, hoping the pasta strainer would be inside. Score! You tossed the pasta strainer onto the counter, causing it to slide next to the sink.

“Their moves! They move with such ferocity! I LOVE IT!” screamed Undyne. You slide on your knees to the cabinet next to the stove, grabbing a large pot and cutting board.. Jumping up, you slammed the pot down on the stovetop and slid the cutting board next to the knife.

“FINISHEEEED!” you announced.

“Congratulations! However, that was only the beginning! Now, let’s see how you handle THIS!” challenged Undyne. She stomped her left foot down into a horse-stance, causing a box of store-bought noodles and fresh fruit and vegetables to fall from the heavens. Or maybe it was just an overhead storage compartment. Either one.

“Now, you must use your strength to destroy these fruits and vegetables to create the perfect sauce! Afterwards, you must boil the noodles to perfection! But not too much, for no one enjoys burnt noodles! Or a burnt down house. Then! You will utilize the strainer to drain the steaming, boiling hot water from the noodles! Finally, you will plate the noodles and pour the perfect amount of sauce onto them! If you succeed here, I might consider giving you more lessons!” vowed Undyne.

“Human! This is your final test! Make me proud!” exclaimed Papyrus.

“I won’t fail you… I will make the perfect pasta!” you shouted to the heavens. What has come over you!? You were never this vocal or passionate… Maybe it was contagious?

“Are you ready!? Because HERE! WE! GOOOOO!” proclaimed Undyne. Grabbing the pot, you quickly filled it with lukewarm water. You dumped the noodles inside, making sure to get every last one.

“Starting with the noodles first!? You must be extremely bold to go off the rules! Continue!” commanded Undyne. You grabbed the knife and grabbed your first tomato. Using quick, precise chops, you diced the tomato into as small of cubes as possible. You fished another bowl out of a nearby cabinet, and scraped the tomato inside. You repeated the process with peppers, onions, and more tomatoes until you had a medley of items in the bowl. Seeing no other option, you steeled yourself before using powerful punches to mash the ingredients inside.

“Using your fists to pound the sauce! Exceptional use of what you have!” complimented Undyne. Satisfied with the sauce for now, you attended to the noodles once more. You gave them a good stirring to find they were not done yet. Cursing under your breath, you grabbed another pot. You poured the sauce inside and turned on a small flame underneath. Taking a visit to the sink to wash the sauce off of your hands, you remember that sauce needs spices. Unable to accept incomplete pasta sauce, you grab the salt and pour in a trace amount, followed by sugar.

“Sugar and salt in sauce!? I hope you know what you’re doing!” warned Undyne. You grabbed both two spoons and stirred the noodles and sauce at the same time.

“YES! STIR HARDER!” commanded Undyne. You complied, upping your stirring speed.

“HARDER!” You stirred harder.

“HAAAAARDEEEER!” You stirred almost fast enough to rock the pots. You turned off the sauce’s fire as you tested the noodles. They were at optimal level of softness! You turned off the fire and dumped the noodles into the strainer. The boiling water drained just like your limitations, as you took the noodles and place a serving on the plate, followed by two spoonfuls of sauce.

“It is complete,” you announced stoically.

“Wonderful, human! You did great! Almost as great as me!” congratulated Papyrus.

“I’ll be the judge of that!” rebuked Undyne. She grabbed a fork, and ate a spoonful of your spaghetti. Please be good, please be good, please be good… Undyne dropper her fork. Crap.

“This… is… oh my god…” whispered Undyne. You covered your face with your hands.

“THIS IS AMAZING!” boomed Undyne, as she rocketed out of her chair. You grabbed the fork, interested in how you had done. You take a forkful, but make a face as you eat it. Way too many spices. There was also an imbalance in the pepper to tomato ratio. Honestly, it was okay at best. The noodles were good, at least.

“Wowie! You impressed Undyne! You might be as good as me at cooking, human!” exclaimed Papyrus. You weren’t about say what you thought about your cooking.

“Human, you know, you really impressed me today. I’ll take you up on my offer. I’ll give you lessons. On one condition. You have to teach me how to cook that good!” laughed Undyne. Oh god, if your spaghetti was better than theirs, then… You would be sure to thank Sans for dropping a hint to not eat Papyrus’s spaghetti.

“Uh, sure! But if I’m helping you with cooking, then what are you teaching me?” you asked. You had a bad feeling you already knew the answer.

“I’m going to teach you how to fight!” yelled Undyne.

God damn it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! More character building! Don't worry, the Underground is a place and will be explored! We just have to get the human to meet some of the characters, because then who would bail them out when things inevitably go sour?
> 
> EDIT: So I planned on having the human head off to Mt. Ebott in the next chapter. That is, unless you guys might want me to write something else before that. They've met Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne so far. So yeah. Comment if you want me to write about something else before they go down to the Underground!


	5. Training and Puzzles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a hard afternoon of training with Undyne, she invites you to relax with her. Little did you know that she had company.

You had spent all of your day off from school training Undyne. Luckily, you had been smart enough to plan moving in on a three day weekend. So far, all of your training had been, according to Undyne, “warming up”. You didn’t know if you considered running around the lake 10 times to be a warm up, but you tried your best. Right now, you were on a 2 minute break.

“I’m impressed, human. Most people would have thrown in the towel by now. The only people who have made it this far are… well, Papyrus and me!” Undyne boasted. You were too out of breath the respond.

“Alright, so now that you’re all warmed up, I think it’s time to move into the meat of the training. It’s a special method that allows both of us to train at one time!” explained Undyne. You were a little suspicious.

“What exactly is this method?” you questioned in between breathes.

“I call it… Try not to die, the game!” Undyne boomed, as she materialized a spear into her hand. Before you had any time to protest, everything grew dark except for you and Undyne. You could feel your heart beating rapidly in fear. Without warning, energy exploded outside of your chest. You fell to your knees, expecting pain, but there was none. When the light dimmed, you could see a heart shape floating in front of you. It was colored pink.

“A pink soul, huh? Never seen one of that color. Doesn’t matter, though!” Undyne exclaimed, as she swung a wave of energy at you. It filled you with an otherworldly strength, giving you the courage to rise to your feet as the heart shifted in hue towards green. A spear similar to Undyne’s materialized in your hands as well.

“Use that spear to block, okay? First time seeing your SOUL can be rough, so I’ll go easy on you for a little. After you get the hang of it though, I’m not holding back! This is what you signed up for!” Undyne bellowed. You stared down Undyne, waiting for her to attack. Out of the corner of your vision, you saw a blur of red. You turned and lifted your spear to block. Rushing toward you was a torrent of tiny, red spears. You held your ground, feeling the tiny spears dissipate once they reflected off of your spear.

“Good. Try this on for size!” challenged Undyne. You turned to block more spears coming from behind. Just as all of the spears had disappeared, though, you sensed more coming from all around. You deftly turned, blocking the bullets. You did not want to know what they felt like.

“When you’re green, you can’t run away! Let’s see what you can do without that spear!” roared Undyne. The spear faded as your SOUL turned back to pink. You were surrounded by a flurry of larger, white spears! Looking for a break in their formation, you dove out of the way of a few spears. Suddenly, you were struck with an idea! You reached your hand out to catch one of the spears, planning on using it as a weapon and shield. As your hand reached the spear, a loud crackling sound rang out as you were sent flying. The spear had redirected toward your soul when you touching it, hurting you!  
“Sorry, chump! Touching ANYTHING that isn’t green is just going to hurt you!” laughed Undyne. Grunting in pain, you quickly rose to your feet. You didn’t have time to lay down! More bullets appeared, and you dived out of the way of each one. You wouldn’t make the same mistake of trying to catch anything ever again.

After what felt like hours, you collapsed in exhaustion. You had spent the last while dodging and blocking hundreds of bullets. When you said you wished you knew how it felt to move your SOUL, you hadn’t meant for real! You felt yourself loosen up as color returned to the world and your SOUL faded away. Undyne walked over to you and offered you her hand.

“You did good, human! The way you leapt all around, I haven’t seen anything like it! Even Frisk just ran around dodging, but you put all of your effort into staying safe. Now we just need to work on the whole fighting back part, and you’ll be an awesome fighter!” congratulated Undyne. You took her hand and stood up.

“Oh my god, I feel like I’m dying… How am I not hurt after that?” you gasped.

“Simple! We monsters don’t have enough physical matter to contend with you guys with physical fighting, so we attack your SOUL - the very essence of your being. You’re feeling the exhaustion of your SOUL right now. Your body is fine, you just need some rest and food,” reassured Undyne. That sounded pretty nice. Just laying around doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea. You were about to call Papyrus to ask him to drive you home when Undyne grabbed the collar of your shirt and started dragging you toward her house.

“Which is why you’re coming in with me to hang out!” exclaimed Undyne. You did not sign up for this. Undyne kicked open her door, not caring for any possible property damage. You could hear a television blaring behind the mysterious door that you had never passed through before. On it was a sign that read, “Only some nerds allowed! X3”. You felt yourself gag at the cat face drawn on. Or maybe it was the heavy workout? Probably both, actually. Undyne let go of your shirt to open her door. It lead to the recreational room, with another door with another sign that read, “No losers allowed!”. Wow, it’s going to take awhile to get past that barrier. Scattered throughout the room was various exercise equipment, including treadmills, weight racks, and punching bags. There was also another piano. In the center of the room was a television. There was a large couch sitting across from it. You could tell someone was on it, but Undyne was in the way. You decided not to ask her to move.

“Oh, Undyne, you’re finished with that human’s super cool training! How was it? Did I miss you doing anything cool?” asked a nasally voice you recognized as Alphys. It was weird knowing half of these people before they even met you, but you guessed that you weren’t exactly interviewed on television.

“Eh, it was alright. They survived my most basic barrage. Why don’t you ask them about it?” responded Undyne.

“What.” stated Alphys flatly. Undyne ignored Alphys’s confusion as she entered the No Losers Allowed zone, presumably to change, leaving you stranded in the doorway. Both you and Alphys were at a loss of words.

“Uh… hi?” you begin.

“H-hi? You must be the human Undyne started training,” guessed Alphys.

“Yep,” you answered shortly.  You walk closer to Alphys, hoping closing the distance will make things easier. They don’t.

“Uh… Do you… like anime?” asked Alphys.

“Yeah! I love anime! Oh! Have you ever seen JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure? It’s soooo good!” you gush. The nerd train has left the station. There is no going back.

“Yes! I love it so much! It reminds me of Undyne so much, and Dio is amazing, and everything is just so coooool! And the poses! OH MY GOD THE POSES!” exclaimed Alphys.

“And when JoJo is fighting those vampire guys- the fighting is so good! That show is the best thing ever!” you replied. There was an awkward silence after that. Well, at least it lasted a little while. Undyne kicker her door open again, wearing a fresh set of the exact same clothes she was wearing earlier.

“Are you two ready to be bums and watch TV!?” demanded Undyne.

“Y-yeah! It’s what I’m the best at!” yelled Alphys.

“Woo!” you added. You finally sat down at the couch. The television was set to MTT television. It was currently on ad-break, but in a few seconds it’d return to something with Mettaton in it. He really would be in anything, as long as it got views. Undyne and Alphys sat next to each other on the couch, while you sat all the way over on the other end. Eh, you’d give them space.

“Oh! It’s coming back on!” announced Alphys. The words ,“Special Newscast!” appeared on the screen in a large, red font. The screen transitioned to a shot of Mettaton, in his EX form, wearing a gray suit and sitting at a desk. Behind him was a large black screen.

“Hello, darlings and gentle-darlings! We return to you with MTT news! Today has been a big day for monsters, as our very own Nice Cream brand has finally taken hold of it’s own chain! You will be able to find them in various large cities, with everything you loved about it! They even come in the shape of my face!” reported Mettaton. A visual aid of a popsicle in the shape of Mettaton’s face appeared on the screen behind Mettaton.

“That’s all for our news, as we transition to everyone’s favorite game show- Tile Puzzle!” exclaimed Mettaton as the black screen faded away. He grabbed his suit and whisked it off, revealing his signature outfit. You especially loved the shoulder pads. David Bowie would be proud.

“Today’s contestant is a human from New York City! They claim they’re going to finish the puzzle in only 30 seconds!” boomed Mettaton.

“No way! No one can get past my puzzle that fast! Argh, I hope they lose!” shouted Alphys, crossing her arms. Undyne looked on in amusement. Mettaton explained the lengthy rules for the audience. It had taken you awhile, but you were proud that you could silently mouth the rules along with Mettaton.

“Are you ready, darling!? Because the time starts- NOW!” announced Mettaton. The timer on top of the screen started ticking down from sixty seconds. The contestant bolted across the conveyor belt. They began making their way across the field of tiles. You scanned the television, searching for the correct path.

“Yes! They’re on the right track! At this rate, they’ll finish in only twenty seconds!” you cheered.

“No! Wait! They just took a wrong turn and got themselves stuck in an unwinnable loop!” corrected Alphys. She was right! They smelled like oranges now, and there were no purple tiles to use! They were trapped by water on nearly all sides! Eventually, the contestant realized this as well, and gave up.

“Too bad! Well, everyone, it seems like today’s contestant was unable to fulfill the puzzle! But! Maybe you could be the one who can solve the legendary Tile Puzzle! If you are up to the challenge, go to www.Mettaton.com to sign up for a chance to be our next contestant!” yelled Mettaton. Just like that, it was all over.

“YEEES! No one beats my girl’s puzzles!” bragged Undyne. Alphys was blushing hard at that remark.

“Man, that was rough. It must suck to be so close to victory, and then get caught in some loop where you can’t win. Has anyone completed the puzzle?” you asked.

“Uh, just one person. Frisk beat it on their first try. It was like they knew the solution before they even saw the puzzle.” answered Alphys.

“Wow… that’s pretty impressive. You know, it’s so much easier when you look at it from an overhead view, so I guess when you can’t see the whole puzzle it’s harder. Then you can’t plan it out,” you suggested.

“W-well, that’s one of the challenges. My favorite part is how it’s a different puzzle each time. They’re all randomly generated, never the same puzzle. Each one is possible, too. It took so long to program and test, but it’s so much fun! I even gave a smaller version to Papyrus,” gushed Alphys. Oh yeah, Papyrus. He was your ride home. He was probably worried as to why you hadn’t called him when you said you would.

“Oh, crap. I was supposed to call him and tell him when to pick me up! This was really fun, but I gotta go! Sorry! It was nice meeting you, Alphys! Training was awesome, too, Undyne!” you explained as you rushed out the door. You needed to get home so you could prepare. Tonight… Tonight was the night. You were going to venture to the Underground tonight. You called Papyrus.

“Hello? Oh, human! I was beginning to worry! Yes, I will be there soon! I can’t wait to hear about the training session!” exclaimed Papyrus over the phone. You hung up, and sat down. You looked at the lake water. It was so clean, it was casting your reflection.

“Am I really going to do this? This is so illegal... “ you murmured to yourself. There was silence for a time as you wondered about your choice. It was definitely not morally right, and you knew that your new friends would be disappointed in you. Was this worth it? Risking throwing all of this away, just to fulfill some odd sense of curiosity? Every time you asked yourself this, there was always an answer in your head. _Of course it is._ You heard Papyrus pull up. Sitting up, you make your way to his car.

“Well, I’m waiting to hear about your super awesome training with Undyne!” reminded Papyrus.

“It was so intense! She had me run around the lake, and then… then she fought me,” you informed.

“She did what? You mean like a sparring match, right?” questioned Papyrus.

“Yeah, I guess. It was really cool, though! I got to see the color of my SOUL! It’s pink. Undyne said she had never seen a soul that color. Any idea what that means?” you ask.

“Well, I’m not the most knowledgeable about this topic, but the color of your SOUL determines how it can move. For example, green SOULS can’t move but can block. Blue SOULS are affected by gravity,  orange SOULS can’t stop moving, teal SOULS can’t move at all, yellow SOULS can shoot at our magic, purple souls can only move up and down on three planes, and red SOULS can move freely! It’s really interesting stuff! I wonder what a pink SOUL can do!” explained Papyrus.

“Huh, I didn’t know that. What color is Frisk’s SOUL?” you ponder.

“Oh, they’re red! The thing about SOULS though, is that their color can be changed by very strong magic, like Undyne’s and mine!” answered Papyrus.

“Whoa, you can change a SOUL’s color, too? What can you make them?” you request.

“Sans and I can both make SOULS blue! I can only do it with my blue attack, but Sans doesn’t need that to do it,” stated Papyrus. You sat there for a little, lost in thought. _I can kinda understand why some people might be scared of monsters now…_ You shake your head, not willing to entertain such garbage. Before you knew it, you had arrived at your home. You waved goodbye to Papyrus as he drove off. Entering your house, you flopped on your bed. You would be leaving again in an a couple of hours, but… You were leaving again for a reason that wasn’t very happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the next chapter is the Underground. I hope you guys enjoyed the happy fluff, because next chapter is going to start the angst. Don't worry, it won't be too bad.


	6. The Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You head to Mt. Ebott, determined to enter the Underground. Someone joins you, even more determined to stop you.

You had gathered your small pack. You didn’t expect to need anything much other than a flashlight, some batteries, bandages, a few granola bars, and a swiss army knife. You were bringing it more for the utility than the knife part, though. Dressed in a heavy jacket, thick jeans, slip resistant shoes, and a warm hat, you left your house. This time you locked the front door. You were careful to stay quiet and be unassuming, and you made it to the base of the trail without being noticed. This is it. Everything you had been preparing for. Did you still want to do this? Of course.

You followed the trail, not turning on your flashlight until you were a fair bit up the path. The mountain was very peaceful. The path was smooth and clear. Guess a whole bunch of monsters all walking along it made it easy to follow. About halfway up the mountain, you found a split in the trail. A gut feeling told you to follow to less used path. This path was rugged, but not impossible to climb. The climb was uneventful and quiet. It was like there was no noise, except for your breathing. Eventually you found yourself at the mouth of a large cave.

This had to be it. There was caution tape all over the entrance. You ducked under the tape, and entered the cave. It was a huge dome, with vines all over the ground. There were even a few with pretty, golden flowers on them. In the exact center of the cave was a large hole. The ledges were rough, and the vines went all the way down. This had to be the way that Frisk entered the Underground. The other end was the one the monsters had came out from. But… Where you really going to jump down a hole just to fulfill your curiosity? You waited for your mind to unconsciously answer, but there was nothing. You were actually thinking about something without instantly jumping to an answer. You sat down on a large rock, and stared at the hole. This wasn’t a good idea. You were beginning to form regrets and worries. What if you hurt yourself when you fell? What if you were wrong, and this was just some random hole? What if… What if there was a reason that no one was supposed to go into the Underground? You heard someone clear their throat behind you. You turned to see Asgore at the entrance of the cave.

“Hello, human. Do you mind if I sit down next to you?” requested Asgore. You softly shake your head in shock. Asgore walks beside you and sits.

“It is a rather intimidating hole, is it not?” sighed Asgore. You nodded.

“Sans told me you were going to be here. I had hoped you wouldn’t, but I do not like to take risks. Especially when children are in danger.” You didn’t bother correcting him.

“I know you’re curious, but… I must warn you. Curiosity is a strange thing. It can lead to great discoveries, but… It can also lead to great tragedies,” Asgore mused. There was a brief moment of silence.

“Is there any way I convince you to not do this?” asked Asgore. This wasn’t a good idea. You were wished that Asgore would force you to leave. But he did not move.

“Have you ever felt like you had to do something? That no matter how bad of an idea it was, no matter how stupid it was… but you had choice?” you murmured. Asgore looked down at the ground sadly.

“I have. Is this… something you feel you have to do?” Of course it is.

“It is… I… I don’t want to do this anymore. I feel so guilty, but… I don’t know… Anytime I try to tell myself that it isn’t right, I always convince myself that I need to this. Of course this is something I have to do, I’ll think,” you explain. Asgore lifts his head slowly.

“Human, I am going to tell you a story. It might help you find your answer,” stated Asgore.

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Many years ago, us two races existed in harmony. However, humans became filled with fear. Fear of the monsters’ power over SOULS. The humans declared war on the monsters. The monsters fought back as best as they could, but not a single human SOUL was claimed. However, thousands of monsters were turned to dust. The war was over almost as soon as it had started. Looking for mercy, the monsters surrendered. The humans gathered their best magic users and herded the monsters to Mt. Ebott. They cast a spell that formed a barrier around the mountain. Anything could enter the mountain through this barrier, but only those with the SOUL of a monster and the SOUL of a human could exit. The humans assured the monsters that if seven human were gathered, that the barrier would be broken. This gave hope to the monsters that perhaps after proving they were not dangerous, the humans would release the monsters. The humans, however, had no intention of ever letting the monsters out. Within time, humans had forgotten about the monsters and the war. Anything left about the race became the superstitions and legends of various cultures around the world.

Hundreds of years later, the first human entered Mt. Ebott. They were a young child named Chara. Chara was from a nearby village and had accidentally fallen down the mountain. The prince of monsters, Asriel Dreemurr, found this child. Asriel carried the human back to their home. His parents, Toriel and Asgore, helped Chara recover. During that time, Asriel and Chara became good friends. After accepting that Chara would not be able to return to the surface, the king and queen adopted the human. Everyone was happy. When Chara matured, the monsters thought, they would be able to leave the underground with the soul of their dying king and convince the humans that the monsters were safe. Then, everyone would be free. After some years had passed, the human grew deathly ill. The king and queen did everything they could for Chara, but it soon became obvious that they did not have much time left in the world. Their last request was to be take to the surface so they could see the golden flowers from their village one last time, but there was nothing the monsters could do. After two days of being ill, the human died. Struck with grief, Asriel, the prince of monsters and brother of Chara, absorbed the human’s soul and crossed the barrier with Chara’s body. Asriel intended to bury them beneath a bed of golden flowers. Eventually, Asriel returned, badly wounded. He still had Chara’s body. His parents tried to save him. Before they could do anything to help him, Asriel turned to dust and scattered along the throne room. Blinded by rage and grief, Asgore declared war on humans. They had taken away their child, and any hope of monsters returning to the surface. Asgore vowed to slay any human who entered the underground, and use seven human souls to shatter the barrier. Then, monsters would claim the surface with Asgore’s power after exterminating the humans. The queen, Toriel, was sickened by Asgore’s plan. She believed that not all humans were bad, and that you cannot condemn an entire race for the conduct of a select few. Toriel left Asgore, not to be seen for decades.

Over time, 6 humans entered the underground, one at a time. All died before they could reach Asgore, and their SOULS were stored. On the 100th anniversary of the death of both the king and queen’s children, a seventh human fell into the underground. They were the same age as Chara. They even looked similar, according to the few monsters that had lived to see both children. Some monsters believed that Chara, reincarnated, had returned to face Asgore and talk him out of his plan. Others saw them as nothing more than one last SOUL to harvest. The human traversed the underground, befriending the monsters and teaching them that not all humans were so bad. This human was, of course, Frisk. Frisk became the first human to make it to Asgore. Before they could fight, all of the friends Frisk had made in their journey stepped in. There was a large flash of light as the barrier broke. No one knew how, as the other six human SOULS had not been used. The rest, of course, is history.

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You stared at the ground, mulling over Asgore’s story in your head.

“It was only after my rage and grief subsided had I realized my mistake. But, it was too late. I had given monsters hope again. I could not take that away from them. My plan… it was an atrocity. But I felt that I had to go on with it. I felt that I had no choice. Human, do you see now? Sometimes, you do not feel that you have a choice when you really do when in reality, you are the only one with a choice,” explained Asgore. He was right. You didn’t have to do this. You didn’t want to do this. So why should you do this?

“I… I don’t want to do this anymore… I just want to go home now…” you whispered. You were starting to cry, despite your best efforts to hold it in. You were done being fake. You were done lying. It just wasn’t worth it anymore.

“I am glad you understand. Come, let’s leave this cave,” suggested Asgore. You nodded as you rose to your feet. You were glad this was over. Maybe when you got home, you’d make yourself something nice to calm down. You began to follow Asgore when your right foot caught on something. Looking behind you, you had caught it foot on a vine. If you had been walking toward the hole, you’d have tripped on it and fell for sure.  
“One sec, my foot’s caught on a vine,” you called forward. Bending down, you starting to take your foot out of the vine when you felt a sudden tightness around your left ankle. Startled, you looked to see a vine wrapped around your ankle. How did that get there? Frustrated, you pulled out your swiss army knife. Good thing you brought it, or else it’d take forever to get rid of these vines. You flipped out the knife and went for the vine when you felt the vine your right foot was caught on wrap around your right ankle. This isn’t normal. Vines don’t just move on their own.

“What’s wrong? Do you need help?” asked Asgore in concern. He turned just in time to see the vines suddenly pull you toward the hole. You fell on your face by the sudden force, dropping your knife. Crap! What’s going on!? How can vines do this!? You reach for something solid as a bright light fills the cave. Bolts of fire form around the vines and try to burn them, but little white pellets intercept the fire. You try to cry for help, but you can’t make anything come out of your throat. You feel your body floating in the air as you are dragged off of solid ground and over the hole. Asgore holds out his arm to you, but you are too far away to grab it. You let out a scream as you fall down the dark hole. Asgore prepares to jump down after you, but thick vines cover the hole almost completely. Asgore attempts to burn it, but the same pellets block the fire bolts.

“Human! Get to the exit of the Underground! We are going in the other end after you! Be careful, there is nothing good down there!” Asgore yelled, as you hear him running to the exit of the cave. The light coming from the hole disappears as it is completely covered by vines. Before you can land, a rock slams into your forehead, knocking you out. Everything goes dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Underground, my friends. Gee, I wonder who is responsible for those vines?


End file.
